Spoiler Alert: Remakes, retreads not always bad ideas

2:24 PM,
May 2, 2014

A 'Ben-Hur' remake is in the works.

Written by

Todd Hill
CentralOhio.com

No, I'm not writing about the fifth "Spider-Man" movie this week because really, what more is there to say about the franchise? Maybe the sixth "Spider-Man" film will surprise us in 2016.

I do want to delve into the matter of cinematic rehashing again though. Not sequels, but remakes. For a long time the popular consensus has been that film remakes are mere shadows of the original efforts and a waste of time and money. They can be, certainly. But remakes should not be dismissed out of hand.

When uber-producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey announced last week that they were on board for a remake of ...